Overflow control for separating-tanks.



C. ALLEN.

OVERFLOW CONTROL FOR SEPARATING TANKS.

Anon H n APPLIC AUG-16.1915- 1,296,252. Patented Mar. 4, 1919.

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c. ALLEN.

OVERFLOWYCONTROL FOR SEPARATING TANKS. APPLICATION FILED AUG, I6. 1915.

Patented Mar. 4, 1919.

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C. ALLEN.

OVERFLOW CONTROL FOB SEPARATING TANKS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 15. I915,

Patented Mar. 4, 1919.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3';

CHARLES ALLEN, or EL PASO, TEXAS.

' OVERFLOW CONTROL FOR SEPARATING-TANKS.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, CHARLES ALLEN, a citizenof the United States, residing at El Paso,

in the county of El Paso and State of Texas, have invented new anduseful Improvements in Overflow Controls for Separating-Tanks,

' of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an overflow ,control for slime thickness,settling tanks, separating tanks, and the like.

In the operation of slime thickness, separating tanks and like machines,it has been common practice to scrape the overflow edge or level it bymechanical adjustment; Such devices, in practice, have proved to behardly more nor less than poor make-shifts, because of the exacthorizontal that must be maintained where the depth of the water on theoverflow lip is sometimes not greater than g of an inch. Hence adeviation of 2 of an inch from the horizontal will double the velocityof approach at onepoint andentirely'cutoif the discharge at the oppositepoint or side.

The object of the present invention is to provide an overflow controlwhich will insure a uniform overflow at all points on the discharge lipof the tank under all normal working conditions, and which will not beaffected by any ordinary deviation from the horizontal, due to settling,or other causes.

The invention consists of the parts and the construction and combinationof parts as hereinafter more fully described and. claimed, havingreference to the accompanying drawings, in which-,-

Figure 1 is a central, verticalsection of one form of overflow control.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of same.

Fig. 3 is a vertical, central section of another form of overflowcontrol. f

Fig. 4: is a plan view of same.

Fig. 5 is a plan section of one of the ten distributing compartments,showing the ar rangement of holes 30, 31, 32 and 33 I Figs. 6, 7 and 8are various modifications showing an overflow control in which the floatand valve are eliminated.

The present invention has been particularly designed for use with thesubmerged cone of my Patents No. 942,697, dated December 7, 1909, No.949,560, dated February 15, 1910 and No. 1,147,356, dated July 20, 1916.It will be manifest that it will be applicable wherever a nicelyregulated over- Specification ofLetters Patent. Application filed August16, 1915. Serial No. 45.821.

Patented. MarA, 1919.

' flow, or where a change in the volume or direction of overflow, may bedesired.

The receptacle to which the device may be attached may or may not haveadischarge for solids, or a portion of the water, at the bottom, oranywhere below the overflow line.

The water or solution'to be handled may be fed at the center or one sideof or in any other desired way into the tankg'themethod of feeding beingimmateriaL In carrying out my invention, A indicates 'the main settlingtank and 2 the discharge launder. Suitably secured, withrelation to theupper end of the tank, and concentrically positioned within same, is aring 3 which is suflicien'tly deep to extend above the water level shownand below the discharge lip 4: of tank'A. Formed'in the dischargelaunder is a float receptacle 5, in the bottom of which'is mounted adischarge valve.

Gwhich' is opened and closed automatically by means of a float 7. Thisis provided for the purpose of maintaining a water level which normallyextends above the discharge lip 4 of tank A.

In operation, the pulpis delivered to the center of the tank, by meansof a pipe or launder '8. The solids contained in the water will settlethrough the ring 3 and collect in the bottom'of-the tank A, from, wherethey may be discharged in any suitable manner (not here shown). Anysolids or liquids that have a tendency to float will rise to the surfacewithin the circular band 3 and will be prevented from floating into thelaunder 2. The water entering with the pulp flows under the lower edgeof the band 3, then upward in the direction of the arrows and over thedischarge lip of tank A into launder 2, and thence into the floatreceptacle 5 and out through the spigot 0r valve 6 which is controlledby the float 7. The normal water level is thus maintained in the tankand launder because as the water level rises, it raises the float,thereby opening the valve in proportion to its rise. The normal'wa'terlevel is above the overflow edged, and the lower edge of ring 3 belowthe level of the discharge lip l. Under these conditions, should thetank A settle on one side, or inany manner deviate from a truehorizontal, it is without efiect on the flow of water from the center tothe periphery until a point is reached when some portionof the dischargelip or edge 4 projects above thesurface of the normal water level. Henceany reasonable uneven settling does not affect the uniformity of theflow over the periphery or discharge lip of the tank. This insuresuniform results in the settling or clearing of the water Within the tankwithout releveling the tank ortrimming the overflow edge as hasheretofore been necessaryin settling vReferring to Figs. 3 and 1, itwill be seen that .the :elischa'rge launder has been divided into fiveannular spaces, such as indicated at 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13, by meansof-vertically disposed ring-shaped partition plates 14, 15, 16, 1'7 and18. These annular spaces are in turn divided by radially disposedpartition plates,- suchas indicated at 19, 20, 21,22, 28, .2e,:25,26, 27and 28,- into ten sections, and the overflow into each ofthesesectionsisdischarged through "a separatepipe, indicated at 29,-into the float receptacle '5. Each of these pipes controls of theoverflow periphery 4; each pipe has the same velocity head to its flow'and hence each discharges the same volume. .Ifthese ten pipes weredirectly connected to the upper part of the tank, there would betenp'oints where the flow from the center to the periphery would beconcentrated, whereas,it is desirable to have uniform flow .at allpoints. This is obtained by the use of aseries of holes in the circularrings 14:, 15,16, 17 and 1 8, and as all the ten sections, into whichthe launder 2 is divided, are exactly alike,--the same description willrefer to all.

The water overflowing in all the ten sections-passes through sixteenequidistant holes, such as indicated at 30, into the space 10, thenthrough eight equidistant holes 31 into the space 11, thence throughfour equidistant holes 32 into the space 12, thence through two holes 33into the space 13 from where the total volume is permitted to dischargethrough the connected .pipe 29 into the float receptacle. As there isthe same velocity head to the flow through every one of the holes intheiinner partition and the same friction and distance of travel to theflow from every one of'the inner holes to its finaldischarge, there willbe a uniform velocity of flow from the center to all points of theoverflow periphery. In the present instance there are one hundred sixtyholes on the inside partition ring 15. This number may be end'ofzthetan-k above the normal water level; This would, however seldom takeplace and can easily be remedied by trimming the tank, if such extremesettlement of the supporting frame or baseshould take place.

The provision of the float 7, with connected valve .6, automaticallymaintains-the desired water level and this may be raised or lowered byadjusting the length of the connecting rod between the float and valve.The uniform flow to all points to'thedis- ;.charge' peripheryis,furthermore, obtained by the novel arrangement of the'tencompartmentsand the plurality of'escape openings formed'therein.

By referring to Fig. 7, it will be seen that a constant water levelabove the discharge lip of the tank may bemaintained without theme ofthe float and connected valve heretofore'described. Thisis accomplishedby providing an overflow lip, such as indicated at 40; this: form ofdischargebeing used 7 when practically no solids haveflatendency todischarge with the overflow. In :Fig. Sthe siphon discharge 41 has beenprovided. This is used where solid particles brought'to the outersection of the launder have a tendency to accumulate; The velocityproduced by the siphon discharge'causes a complete removal of same.

In Fig. 6, which is a detail view of one side'of the overflow, the holesor .perfnrations between the several compartments are shown as arrangedon an angle. This isfor the purpose of carrying ofl solids that have atendency to escape with the overflow. 'If solids accumulate in the outercompartment to any extent, the outer hole is connected With a siphonpipe, such as indicated at 43, whilewhere there is practically anabsence of solids in the overflow the ordinary-discharge lip shown inFig. 7 may be employed.

. From the description of Figs. 6,7 and 8, it will be'seen that aconstant water level may be maintained above the 'dischar e lip of thetank without the use of the float and valve previouslydescribed. Thisnot only simplifies the construction in general butalso makes it easierand cheaper to manufacture and operate. 7

The materials and finish of the several parts of the device-are such asthe experience and judgment of the manufacturer may dictate. r r r Iwish it understood that various changes in form, proportions and minordetails of construction may be resorted to Within the scope of theappended claims and that I do not wish to limit myself to the specificdesign and construction here shown.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure:by Letter Patent is y 1. In a device of the character described, thecombination with the settling tank, of a discharge launder eXteriorly ofthe tank and surrounding same, and automatic means for maintaining aconstant water level in the launder higher than the upper overflow endof the tank, said means comprising a float actuated valve mounted in thedischarge launder and regulating the discharge therefrom.

2. In a device of the character described, the combination with thesettling tank, of a discharge launder exteriorly of the tank andsurrounding the same, a float actuated valve in the launder formaintaining a constant water level therein higher than the upperoverflow end of the tank, and means for producing a uniform discharge atall points on the periphery of the tank into the launder.

3. In a device of the character described, the combination with thesettling tank, of a discharge launder exteriorly of the tank andsurrounding same, means for maintaining a normal water level in thelaunder which will keep the upper overflow end of the tank submerged,and a circular band secured concentrically; with relation to the tank,having its upper edge extending above the water level and its lower edgebelow the upper overflow end of the tank.

4. In a device of the character described, the combination with thesettling tank, of a discharge launder eXteriorly of the tank andsurrounding same, a float chamber in the launder, a discharge valve inthe bottom of the chamber, and a float connected with the valve to openand close same to maintain a normal water level in the launder whichwill keep the upper overflow end of the tank submerged.

5. In a device of the character described, the combination with thesettling tank, of a discharge launder exteriorly of the tank andsurrounding same, a float chamber in the launder, a discharge valve inthe bottom of the chamber, a float connected with the valve to open andclose same to maintain a normal water level in the launderwhich willkeep the upper overflow end of the tank submerged, and a circular bandsecured concentrically with relation to the tank having its upper edgeextending above the water level and its lower edge below the upperoverflow end of the tank.

6. In a device of the character described,

the combination with the settling tank, of a discharged launderexteriorly of the tank and surrounding same, a float chamber in thelaunder, a discharge valve in the bottom of the chamber, a floatconnected with the valve to open and close same to maintain a normalwater level in the launder which will keep the upper overflow end of thetank submerged, and means for producing a uniform discharge at allpoints on the periphery of the tank into the launder.

7. In a device of the character described, the combination with thesettling tank, of a discharge launder eXteriorly of the tank andsurrounding same, a plurality of radially disposed plates in the launderto divide the launder into a plurality of compartments, a plurality ofplates in each compartment dividing each compartment into a plurality ofseparated chambers, said plates having a plurality of perforationsformed therein to form communication between each chamber, a floatchamber, a discharge valve .in said chamber, a float in the chamberconnected with the valve to open or close same to maintain a normalwater level in the several compartments and chambers in the launderwhich will keep the discharge lip of the tank submerged, and a pipeconnecting each compartment with the float chamber.

8. In a slimer, the combination with the settling tank, of a launderexteriorly of the tank and surrounding the same, and means for producinga uniform flow from the center of the tank to all points of thedischarge lip, said means comprising a series and interspaced, aplurality of openings formed in the innermost of said rings, and

a decreasing number of openings formed in.

the succeeding rings.

9. In a slimer, the combination with the settling tank, of a launderexteriorly of the tank and surrounding the same, and means for producinga uniform flow from the cen ter of the tank to all points of thedischarge lip, said means comprising a series of annular ring members,positioned one exteriorly of the other within the launder andinterspaced, a plurality of openings'formed in the innermost of saidrings, a decreasing number of openings formed in the succeeding rings,and radially disposed partition plates interposed between theringmembers to form a plurality of separate compartments for the flow ofthe pulp.

10. In a'device of the character described, the combination with asettling tank having an overflow periphery, of means to supply pulp tosaid tank, a discharge launder adapted to receive the overflow, means insaid launder for maintaining a water level in the launder higher thanthe overflow periphery of the tank, and, means in the launder formaintaining an even flow from my hand in the presence of tWo subscribingthe center of the tank to all points on the Witnesses.

overflow periphery, said means comprising a I CHARLES ALLEN. pluralityof perforated distributing rings Witnesses: I V 5 positioned in thelaunder. ROBERT J. HUTOHIsON,

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set ARTHUR H. SW'ETT.

.Gopin ot-thh patent may Ire-obtained ,tor five cent: each, ;byeqldreuingythe "Commissioner of Patients,

' Washington, D. 0.

